1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a setting apparatus and a setting method each for setting setting information in an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, and in particular, to a setting apparatus and a setting method each for setting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus equipped with electric power line carrier communication means for performing electric power line carrier communication through an electric power line of a commercial electric power source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been available electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses which are of three kinds of followings installed in a distributed manner in a building such as a house or the like:
(a) a first electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, provided between an electric power line of a commercial electric power source and an electric power load apparatus, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus;
(b) a second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, included in the electric power load apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus; and
(c) a third electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and remotely performing control operation for one of the first and second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses so as to be interlocked using the electric power line carrier communication means.
In this case, the above electric power load apparatuses are, for example, light equipments, air conditioners, or the like. It has been well known to those skilled in the art that unique attribute information such as an address for specifying such an electric power line carrier communication terminal is set using DIP switches provided to each electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus.
There has been further available a polling and selecting type electric power line carrier communication system, which is capable of operating a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses with a single main apparatus thereof, and which can communicate using multi-channels. In this case, when attribute data of attribute information such as an address, a terminal name, an installment place and the others are set to each of the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses, a setting operation for writing the attribute data in a data storage memory provided to the each electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is performed by power line carrier communication (referred to as a PLCC hereinafter) via of an electric power line of a commercial electric power source using a dedicated setting apparatus or setting means provided in the main apparatus. That is, a system setting method has been proposed as follows. Each of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses has information such as a kind, a mode number and the others of each product (such as a refrigerator, a television set or the like), the data of each of the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses connected to the electric power line is acquired as a list with setting means or the like by the PLCC, and a desired electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is selected from the terminal listing data to set the attribute information such as an address and an installment place to the same terminal apparatus.
In the prior art technique, however, in the above-mentioned system setting technique using DIP switches, a trouble may be caused due to setting error in the case of a great number of terminal apparatuses, for example. On the other hand, the system setting technique of polling and selecting type has difficulty in identification in a case of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses of the same kind and the same model number. That is, when electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses are electric power load apparatuses each of a home electrical appliance such as a refrigerator, a television set, or the like, the electric power load apparatuses have to be connected one by one to the electric power line upon setting attribute information thereto. On the other hand, when an electric power line carrier communication terminal is either (a) a PLCC terminal apparatus such as a wall-installed operating switch terminal which comprises an operating switch for turning on and off a lighting equipment or (b) a wiring equipment type PLCC terminal apparatus such as a plug-in connection type load terminal apparatus having a plug socket for an electric power load apparatus such as a ceiling adapter for lighting equipment, then these PLCC terminal apparatuses can not be easily connected to the electric power line of the commercial electric power. For this reason, in the latter case, a setting operation of attribute information should be collectively performed after installment of the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses instead of the setting operation thereof prior to each installment.
In the case of wiring equipment type electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses, generally the terminal apparatuses of the same kind and the same model number are installed. That is, in a lighting system composed of a plurality of operating switch terminal apparatuses installed on wall surfaces, and lighting apparatuses or ceiling adapter terminal apparatuses 100 as shown in FIG. 5 which are the plug-in connection type load terminal apparatuses, setting information for interlocking operation between each operating switch and a lighting equipment or a plug-in connection type load terminal apparatus can be set as follows. First of all, terminal listing data of load apparatuses (not shown) connected to the electric power line, plug-in connection type load terminal apparatuses and operating switch type terminal apparatuses (not shown) is obtained by PLCC via the electric power line using the setting means, followed by setting of interlocking operation by specifying a relationship between a desired operating switch type terminal apparatus and a load apparatus such as a lighting equipment. However, since there exist a plurality of operating switch terminal apparatuses of the same kind and the same model number, and a plurality of numbers of plug-in connection type load terminal apparatuses of the same kind and the same model number, and this leads to difficulty in physically specifying which operating switch terminal apparatus is installed where, or which plug-in connection load terminal is to be operated by an operating switch.
In order to dissolve the above-mentioned problems, a certain measure of solution can be achieved by providing a unique ID information to each of operating switch type terminal apparatuses and each of plug-in connection type load terminal apparatuses upon shipping from factories, and by managing installation places when executing construction work to specify the place of each terminal apparatus. However, actual management of the installation places could be realized at much expense in time and much effort at a building site in a disorderly situation. Further, it can be considered that unique ID information of an operating switch type terminal apparatus is displayed on an operating switch terminal apparatus using display means such as a bar code, which is read by a bar-code reader. In this case, however, it is hard in terms of product design to provide such a display on a product surface since a plug-in connection type load terminal apparatus of a wiring adapter type requires a relatively small size. On the other hand, when such a display is provided on a side surface or a rear surface of a product, the display results in being hidden within a wall and in order to avoid this, it is also expected that installment arrangement becomes more complex for the plug-in connection type load terminal apparatuses. In addition, when electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses exist with setting of the same address among neighboring houses, belonging to respective different electric power wiring systems, it is also conceived that setting information such as wrong interlocking operations or the like may be written.
An essential object of the present invention is therefore to provide a setting apparatus and a setting method each for setting setting information in an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, each being capable of setting of setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information without any confusion in relation with neighboring houses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a setting apparatus and a setting method each for setting setting information in an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, each being capable of setting of easily obtaining a relationship between a pair of PLCC terminal apparatuses which should be interlocked to each other, and capable of setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information correctly even though the PLCC terminal apparatuses have the same type and the same model number.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting apparatus for setting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus equipped with electric power line carrier communication means for performing electric power line carrier communication through an electric power line of a commercial electric power source,
wherein the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is one of the followings:
(a) a first electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, provided between the electric power line of the commercial electric power source and an electric power load apparatus, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus;
(b) a second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, included in the electric power load apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus; and
(c) a third electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and remotely performing control operation for one of the first and second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses so as to be interlocked using the electric power line carrier communication means,
wherein the setting apparatus comprises:
storage means for previously storing the setting information; and
infrared communication means for transmitting the setting information stored in the storage means, directly to the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus using an infrared communication method.
In the above-mentioned setting apparatus, the setting information preferably further includes a control program for use in operating the electric power load apparatus using the control program, and
wherein the setting apparatus further comprises input means for inputting the setting information.
In the above-mentioned setting apparatus, the input means is preferably an interface circuit capable of being connected to a personal computer.
In the above-mentioned setting apparatus, the storage means is preferably a removable storage medium.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting method for setting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus equipped with electric power line carrier communication means for performing electric power line carrier communication through an electric power line of a commercial electric power source,
wherein the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is one of the followings:
(a) a first electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, provided between the electric power line of the commercial electric power source and an electric power load apparatus, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus;
(b) a second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, included in the electric power load apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus; and
(c) a third electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and remotely performing control operation for one of the first and second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses so as to be interlocked using the electric power line carrier communication means,
wherein the setting method includes the steps of:
previously storing the setting information into storage means; and
transmitting the setting information stored in the storage means, directly to the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus using an infrared communication method.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting apparatus for setting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus equipped with electric power line carrier communication means for performing electric power line carrier communication through an electric power line of a commercial electric power source,
wherein the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is one of the followings:
(a) a first electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, provided between the electric power line of the commercial electric power source and an electric power load apparatus, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus;
(b) a second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, included in the electric power load apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus; and
(c) a third electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and remotely performing control operation for one of the first and second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses so as to be interlocked using the electric power line carrier communication means,
wherein the setting apparatus comprises:
first receiving means for receiving terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses by performing communications with a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses using the electric power line carrier communication means;
first display means for displaying the received terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses for each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses;
second receiving means for receiving a detection signal including the terminal identification information transmitted from each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses in response to a predetermined position specifying signal;
second display means for displaying the terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the received detection signal;
input means for inputting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information of the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus which are displayed; and
transmission setting means for setting the setting information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the detection signal by transmitting the inputted setting information to the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the detection signal using the electric power line carrier communication means.
In the above-mentioned setting apparatus, the position specifying signal is preferably an infrared signal from an infrared signal transmitter.
In the above-mentioned setting apparatus, the position specifying signal is a pattern signal generated by turning on and off an operating switch.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting method for setting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus equipped with electric power line carrier communication means for performing electric power line carrier communication through an electric power line of a commercial electric power source,
wherein the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is one of the followings:
(a) a first electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, provided between the electric power line of the commercial electric power source and an electric power load apparatus, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus;
(b) a second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, included in the electric power load apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and controlling an operation of the electric power load apparatus; and
(c) a third electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, connected to the electric power line, and remotely performing control operation for one of the first and second electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses so as to be interlocked using the electric power line carrier communication means,
wherein the setting method includes the steps of:
receiving terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses by performing communications with a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses using the electric power line carrier communication means;
displaying the received terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses for each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses;
receiving a detection signal including the terminal identification information transmitted from each of a plurality of electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatuses in response to a predetermined position specifying signal;
displaying the terminal identification information and terminal attribute information of an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the received detection signal;
inputting setting information including attribute information and interlocking operation information of the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus which are displayed; and
setting the setting information into an electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the detection signal by transmitting the inputted setting information to the electric power line carrier communication terminal apparatus corresponding to the detection signal using the electric power line carrier communication means.
In the above-mentioned setting method, the position specifying signal is preferably an infrared signal from an infrared signal transmitter.
In the above-mentioned setting method, the position specifying signal is preferably a pattern signal generated by turning on and off an operating switch.